Prostitution is the "contractual barter of
sex favors, usually sexual intercourse, for monetary considerations
without any emotional attachment between the partners" (Grauerhold
& Koralewski, 1991). Whenever this topic is mentioned, people
usually shy away from it, because they are thinking of the actions
involved in this profession. [1]
The purpose of this paper, however, is not to talk about these
services, but to [2]
discuss the social, economic and legal issues behind prostitution.
[3]

One of my first questions I intended to answer
was whether the fact that a woman had been a prostitute would
impair her ability to obtain another job. [4]
I found out that this [5]
is generally not their [6]
first career option. In fact, this is sometimes the only job for
which these women think they are suitable. Grauerholz and Koralewski
(1991) have stated that they generally have low self-esteem and
histories of sexual abuse or child neglect. Thus, they have a
radical view of how women should behave. [7]

So, does this mean that prostitution should be
outlawed? Not necessarily. A woman going by the name of Jane Roe
II is attempting to have prostitution legalized in Florida. She's
following in the footsteps of the Roe v. Wade decision that made
abortion legal because women have "the right to privacy and
the right to do with her body as she chooses" (Decker, 1995).
Following this interpretation of the decision, why isn't prostitution
legal? Jane Roe II started working as a prostitute due to her
lack of other choices. She made $800 to $1500 a week, enough to
support her children and herself. Should we legalize prostitution
just so women can make a greater amount of money? [8]

We can go back and forth about the social issues
of prostitution all day. There will always be some against prostitution.
Most religious institutions are adamantly against prostitution.
Then there are the prostitutes who do it because they don't know
what else they should do. Everybody worries about them, but we
never do anything to help them. Maybe if we outlaw prostitution,
we'll be helping them in some way. Then, there will be those who
are for prostitution. The prostitutes themselves, both those that
are doing it for the lack of a better paying job and those that
are doing it because they have no desire to do anything better
with their lives. Also, the people who frequent the prostitutes
and the ones in charge of the prostitutes will support them.

"It has been found that there is a direct
correlation between the extent of violence against the prostitutes
and the level of illegality of the work (Kuo, 2000).
[9] I believe there will always be prostitution regardless
of what the government does. [10]
The more "illegal they make prostitution, the more severe
the violence against the prostitutes will be."
[11] It seems to me
[12] that legalizing prostitution will cause fewer
prostitutes to be physically harmed and hence have more of a choice
as to for whom they can work. [13]

Legalizing prostitution will allow for greater
control over the patrons and the prostitutes. [14]
This will regulate the amount of disease allowed in the profession.
Proposed legislation in Australia "would require all prostitutes
to be formally registered and required to carry identity cards"
(Martin, 2003). These ID's would hold information pertaining to
the woman's STI status. However, this control and legalization
would also make prostitutes known as such, both to their families
and to tax officials (Parlour, 1999). A portion of prostitutes
hold other jobs and do not want it to be known that they are involved
in prostitution. Perhaps a confidentiality system would be needed
if prostitution were to be legalized.

The other side of the argument is that "legitimizing
the service roles surrounding voluntary prostitution simply grease
women's slide into the sex world" (Peratis, 2000). Maybe
this is true, but wouldn't the ones who join this work force be
likely to join it even if it were illegal? Now, at least, the
environment is a little more sanitary and they can have some sense
of security. We shouldn't characterize all prostitutes "as
victims who are acting against their will and who are controlled
by others These characterizations just make the sex worker
even more invisible as a worker" (Peratis, 2000). We should
allow prostitutes some dignity in knowing that they had a choice
in their profession.

If prostitution were legal, then there would probably
be more jobs available. This would help to lower the unemployment
rate. With more prostitutes, though, the price for their services
would probably fall. If the prices fell substantially, then maybe
more women would find other professions more appealing. Perhaps
this scenario would help the more motivated women get out of the
prostitution industry. Since the number of prostitutes would fall,
then the price would raise again. We will never know exactly what
the equilibrium price and demand would be without the actual scenario
happening.

One thing that could happen if prostitution were
to become legal would be the taxing of their business. Sally Richards
(2003), of Las Vegas, believes that the taxing of the almost legal
prostitution industry would help both their education and healthcare
systems. If the benefits of legalizing prostitution seem to outweigh
the costs so much, why isn't it legalized? The biggest concern
in the United States seems to be the morality of the issue. As
Archbishop Hickey says, "The right of a community to be free
of licensed prostitution is, by its nature, greater than anyone's
right to run a brothel" (Martin, 2003). [15]
Some people are so against saying prostitution is ok that they
will fight it even if it is legalized. They just don't see the
benefits because of the immorality.
[16]

Prostitution will occur whether we legalize it
or not. The only con to legalizing it seems to be the morality
issue. If people can see that there are enough pros to counteract
this, maybe prostitution will be legal someday. Legal prostitution
could bring in tax revenues, more jobs, more sanitary conditions
and maybe even a sense of pride or at least security in the prostitutes.
[17]

*References not included.

1. The women involved in
prostitution can have many reasons for the choices that they
make. The prostitutes and society could, under the right circumstances,
both benefit from the legalization of this profession.

2. Eliminate: "however","not",and
"talk about these services, but to"

3. Good, but upgrade. This
is where you convince the reader to keep reading.

4. Eliminate sentence beginning
with "One of my first questions "

5. Eliminate "I found
out that this" and replace is with "prostitution".